Young Organist Collaborative Benefit Concert

Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Young Organist Collaborative, which provides scholarship money to the next generation of organists, is hosting a benefit concert featuring six professional organists at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH on Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 3:00pm. There is no set ticket price, however all free will offerings benefit the Young Organist Collaborative scholarship fund.

Performing on St. John’s Episcopal Church’s LeTourneau opus 75 organ will be resident Director of Music, Abbey Siegfried. Other performers include Bruce Adami, Director of Music and Organist at Christ Episcopal Church in Exeter; Beverly Caldon, Organist/Choir Director at the Congregational Church in Exeter (UCC); Barbara Flocco, Music Director/Organist at Bedford Presbyterian Church; Kevin Lindsay, Organist and Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Rochester; and David Wold, Organist at Rye Congregational Church. All performers are currently faculty members for the Young Organist Collaborative and mentor aspiring organists.

The Young Organist Collaborative supports the musical education of children ages 10-16 by providing scholarship money for organ lessons. Since its inception in 2001, the Collaborative has subsidized the training of 80 organ students. Four program graduates are currently majoring in organ performance at prestigious colleges, including Oberlin and Holy Cross. In addition to organ instruction, scholarship recipients are eligible to participate in enrichment activities that expose them to pipe organs around the region.

“The Young Organist Collaborative is honored to have these six talented professional organists under one roof performing for the benefit of our scholarship program,” noted Judy Howard, Chair of the Young Organist Collaborative. "Each year, the Young Organist Collaborative provides scholarships to approximately twelve young musicians, which helps to cultivate the next generation of organists.”

About The Young Organist Collaborative

The Young Organist Collaborative invests in the next generation of organists by providing scholarship money for musicians ages 10-16. An outreach program of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH, the Collaborative accepts and supports young musicians of all faiths. Scholarship funds go directly to organ lessons and students are asked to make a yearlong commitment to their musical training. Since its inception in 2001, the Young Organist Collaborative has supported 80 young organists in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts in their musical training. All scholarship funds come from contributions made directly to the Young Organist Collaborative.